Friday, 25 May 2012

It’s possible to speed up Chong Wei’s recovery, says Ramlan

PETALING JAYA: A second round of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at
the KL Sports Medical Centre (KLSMC) revealed that world No.1 Lee Chong
Wei has indeed suffered nothing more than a partial torn ligament in
his ankle.

Chong Wei retired after just four minutes into his
Thomas Cup Group C match against Denmark’s Peter-Gade Christensen on
Tuesday and flew home the next day for further treatment.

National
Sports Institute (NSI) chief executive officer Datuk Dr Ramlan Aziz
believes that it is possible to speed up Chong Wei’s recovery period but
he cannot guarantee that the shuttler will be fit in time for the
London Olympics in July.

“Together with Dr Saw Khay Yong of the
KLSMC, the NSI will try our very best to speed up the recovery process
because he is our top priority and responsibility,” Dr Ramlan said after
receiving the scan reports at the KLSMC yesterday.

“But time is
actually running out, with only 64 days to the Olympics. If we had four
months to heal Chong Wei, then there will be no worries ...
unfortunately we do not have four months.
“We are confident that
we can help Chong Wei recover as fast as possible but I can’t guarantee
that he’ll be at his usual best when he takes to the court.

“Furthermore, even after recovery, he would still need to go through rehabilitation before he can train again.”

Meanwhile, Dr Ramlan explained that a stem cell method, supervised by Dr Saw, will be used to speed up the recovery process.

“He will have three injections in the next two weeks to help heal the damaged tissue,” said Dr Ramlan.
“What happens is that we will use his own cells to repair the damage in his ankle.
“It is a safe method and there will be no side effects.

“Furthermore,
we are confident with Dr Saw’s treatment as he has previously treated
Wong Mew Choo (former women’s national player). Hopefully, this is a way
to shorten the period needed for recovery.”